wretched hater spins

atrocious convictions fright

I walk away strong

.

music man my pride

opens gift inside my soul

I dance memories

.

tiny steps and breaths

sweeten dreams and daytime trips

I revel in smiles

.

long-lashed weepy love

steadfast through nightmare dreaming

I defy the storm

.

deftly pulls my eternal thread

timlessly bound before we wed

mother loved you best

whip smart big brother of mine

you included me

a teacher wise spied

abilities me

oextending my sky

men who loved than left

one night lessons invaluable

in defining worth

career with deadlines

tick tocking away my life

importance shifting

husband steadfastly

supportive invisibly

my worn buried rock

the unlikely created my unlikely wins

forgiving erratic unforgivable spins

I was his fave'rit;

His daughter of shared weakness.

Shared interests too.

I was her comfort;

Her daughter of compassion,

Strength in heavy times.

~

I am his wife/love;

Learner from his intellect,

Sharer of his life.

I am their mother;

Assistant of their keen minds,

Keeper of their health.

I never saught to build a bridge between these seperate lives,

But one learns from the other in my faulty mind's archives.

‘Dream big’ my dad said

And I did, for a moment—

life’s not so simple.

London and Paris:

An old man begs me for bread,

Where’s the beauty?

Defeat trailed me home

My mom’s tears forced me to smile

Quote: ‘Good things will come.’

How do you go on?

Stranger in the rain answers:

‘Look up—sun’s coming out.’

The muffled clink of coins in a paper cup reminds me,

Salvation lies in kind words and small deeds.

Today it is me

I render self to myself

teach children to write

Brother by shirt sleeves

grabbed me to see with my eyes

what appears in his.

Long haired poet, he

led me to stand on, not at,

a table to shout.

Professor, master

beat me because he said he

loved my work the most.

To live long enough to thrive

their teachings I ha to survive.

My elder daughter

Always marched to her own beat

She is my hero

Daughter number two

A compassionate empath

Exuding goodwill

Second ex-husband

Truly, an abusive jerk

Compelled me to reveal strength

And then there’s myself

Varied personalities

Taught me how to cope

Uniqueness, harmony, survival, strife,

Every one of them have transformed my life.

#poetry #haiku #haikusonnet #challenge #lifechanging

Mother kind and warm,

Tried so hard to be perfect,

Hard-won approval.

Dad didn’t mean it,

Didn’t know another way,

Softness came too late.

Grandmother loved.

Nothing more and nothing less.

Wounded and unwound.

Brother; protector.

Nothing escaped his sharp eye.

First friend, for always.

Thin is water and thick is blood,

That shouldn't matter, because so is mud.

Am I pretty, mom?

There are prettier than you.

I cry in my room.

Am I talented?

Yes, but your dreams are absurd

I ignore her words.

Are you proud of me?

Why do you need me to be?

In spite I succeed.

My mother in her own way gave me room

To struggle, to grow, to blossom, to bloom.

He once emboldened me

To spread my wings and soar high

Only to clip them

Mother disapproved

My every attempt to please

Until I gave up

Random stranger showed

What freedom and love felt like

I braced my new wings

My daughter of steel

Always expressed her strong-will

She inspired me

My past was dark, I could not let go

Then the storm settled, I found my rainbow.

he changed me the most.

showing me that life was worth

my heart of fury.

fury came from her,

from my mother who refused

to accept less than.

and she, the best friend

of seven years, poured self-love.

ingrained it in me.

the most raw change: me.

for too long, i felt poison

taking over me.

everyone kept changing and fixing the waves of my sea,

so my churning ocean never let me simply, be.